Sound Quality
Wow! These were a huge surprise. The sound quality is shockingly good. I'd say right up with best of $150 sealed on-ear headphones --- especially when viewed from the perspective of the intended audience. I auditioned them comparing with the V-Moda V-80, Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators, Quincy Jones Q460, and Beats Solo. To my ears they fairly easily bested all but the V-Moda, and there it was surprisingly close. The bass is well extended, punchy and powerful, but not overly exaggerated. It does have a little bloom in the mid-bass, but not to the point of being murky. The mids have a nice natural timbre and are well integrated into the whole. The treble has a little trouble by being moderately recessed and a little indistinct giving a slightly muffled sounding presentation. But a laid back sound also gives the impression of a somewhat bass heavy headphone that the kids like, and it tames the nasties from lossy mp3 rips and bad recordings. I really don't mind laid back highs at all for a rock, pop, rap, and/or dubstep portable headphone. The dynamic punch of the Exodus is very satisfying, they can punch hard without being bloated or brash. The imaging leaves quite a bit to be desired, though. The recessed and somewhat indistinct treble prevent a coherent image from developing. Headphones of this type rarely have good imaging, so I'd say they're about average in this regard.
Measurements
High bass distortion in the THD+noise plot tends to indicate a poor seal and/or murky bass response. But the 300Hz square wave on the right channel showed the potential for these cans to deliver a straight line. As I mentioned above, it may largely be due to getting a poor seal when measured. I heard the bass as fairly tight and lots of fun; I think the cans seal and deliver bass better than measured.
Isolation is good but not great at -11dB broadband. These will isolate you from outside noise well enough for most uses, but if you're looking for a really good isolating can for heavy use on subways, planes, and in other loud environments, look elsewhere.
With 29mVrms needed to achieve 90dBSPL, and impedance and phase response showing a 32 Ohm headphone with modest reactive characteristics, the Exodus will play well and loud from portable devices.
Summary
I tell you what, I think The House of Marley has put a whole lotta Love into these headphones, and man can you feel it. Natural mystic for sure ... I love 'em.
With casual styling, decent isolation, loud play from portables, great sound, and a nice carry pouch, the only thing stopping me from an over-the-top recommendation is the overly tight headband tension. Fortunately, that can easily be fixed with a stapler.
So, I'm down with the Love from The House of Marley Exodus headphones and will heartily recommend them for those wanting a good sounding headphone to go with your easy skanking lifestyle. I'll let Bob have the last word before the video. Do you think he was thinkin' about headphones?
"The power of philosophy floats through my head, light like a feather, heavy as lead." - Bob Marley
Resources
House of Marley home page and Exodus product page.
Wow! These were a huge surprise. The sound quality is shockingly good. I'd say right up with best of $150 sealed on-ear headphones --- especially when viewed from the perspective of the intended audience. I auditioned them comparing with the V-Moda V-80, Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators, Quincy Jones Q460, and Beats Solo. To my ears they fairly easily bested all but the V-Moda, and there it was surprisingly close. The bass is well extended, punchy and powerful, but not overly exaggerated. It does have a little bloom in the mid-bass, but not to the point of being murky. The mids have a nice natural timbre and are well integrated into the whole. The treble has a little trouble by being moderately recessed and a little indistinct giving a slightly muffled sounding presentation. But a laid back sound also gives the impression of a somewhat bass heavy headphone that the kids like, and it tames the nasties from lossy mp3 rips and bad recordings. I really don't mind laid back highs at all for a rock, pop, rap, and/or dubstep portable headphone. The dynamic punch of the Exodus is very satisfying, they can punch hard without being bloated or brash. The imaging leaves quite a bit to be desired, though. The recessed and somewhat indistinct treble prevent a coherent image from developing. Headphones of this type rarely have good imaging, so I'd say they're about average in this regard.
Click on graphs image to download .pdf for closer inspection.
Raw frequency response measurements (FR lower traces) indicate difficulties getting a seal for reliable bass response. The Exodus earpads are a little stiff and the dummy head's ears are a little harder than real ears. I heard the actual bass performance in listening tests as somewhat better than that measured.
Spatially averaged and compensated frequency response (FR upper traces) are remarkably flat and artifact free to 1kHz. The general downward trend from there to 5kHz is about right for a neutral sound, though interrupted by two minor bumps at 1kHz and 3.5kHz. Up to 5kHz, this is a very good result. The somewhat undesirable treble peak between 8kHz and 10kHz exists on almost all headphones in one form or another. In this case it may be advantageous as it gives a little sparkle to compensate for the very low in response top octave between 10kHz and 20kHz.
Unfortunately, these treble difficulties also show up as a distinct ring on the leading edge of the 300Hz square wave and impulse response. I'm slowly coming to think it is these ringing leading edges that inhibit imaging, and blur the natural character of treble instrument sounds like cymbals. The Exodus didn't do either very well.
I tell you what, I think The House of Marley has put a whole lotta Love into these headphones, and man can you feel it. Natural mystic for sure ... I love 'em.
With casual styling, decent isolation, loud play from portables, great sound, and a nice carry pouch, the only thing stopping me from an over-the-top recommendation is the overly tight headband tension. Fortunately, that can easily be fixed with a stapler.
So, I'm down with the Love from The House of Marley Exodus headphones and will heartily recommend them for those wanting a good sounding headphone to go with your easy skanking lifestyle. I'll let Bob have the last word before the video. Do you think he was thinkin' about headphones?
"The power of philosophy floats through my head, light like a feather, heavy as lead." - Bob Marley
House of Marley home page and Exodus product page.
